Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this advanced copy.

This week’s headline? Stay away from men named Keith.

Why this book? It’s one of my most anticipated reads for this year. Also, I loved Bad Marie.

Which book format? ARC ebook

Primary reading environment? Home

Any preconceived notions? I’ll probably relate to the main character.

Identify most with? Allison (I was right)

Three little words? “had her health”

Goes well with? Swimsuit, rooftop swimming pools, Thai food

Recommend this to? Someone trying to restart their life after too many let downs. Or you love weird books.

Other cultural accompaniments: https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/articles/how-to-prepare-your-home-and-finances-for-a-hurricane

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16802-brain-surgery

Grade: 4/5 stars

I leave you with this: “She was thirty-two years old. Sick of everybody and everything.”

“She wanted to have a list, really, of subjects that she did not want to talk about.”
~
Hurricane Girl is an engaging and odd story about a woman who escapes her abusive boyfriend, buys a beach house that is then demolished by a hurricane, and then gets seriously bonked on the head by a creepy cameraman. Oh, and she somehow makes the drive from North Carolina to New Jersey with said injury.

The novel explores the ways in which one can cope with external forces we can’t control, whether they be natural disasters or negative experiences with people.

While some people may be turned off by the simple sentence structure, I think it suited this story as it reflects Allison coping with her traumatic experiences and the after effects of brain surgery. Also, a book doesn’t always require flowery language to get its point across.

I love how funny it is and relatable, how even people in their 30s don’t always have everything figured out. It’s a quick read and I look forward to reading more Dermansky.

tw: mentions abuse, PTSD, death of a family member

Hurricane Girl will be released on June 14, 2022.

This did not work for me at all. The story was interesting enough and there were plenty of unlikable characters (which I love) but I just could not get past the writing. Everything was so matter of a fact. Simple sentence. Allison went here. Allison did this. Allison did that. I don’t have to have super flowery, overwritten prose to enjoy a story but something about this felt almost childish in its simplicity. The ending was kind of dud, I’ve already forgotten most of the plot points… but clearly I’m the minority here because I’m seeing nothing but glowing reviews from other readers so maybe just ignore me and give it a try if this sounds up your street!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This was a quick read about Allison, a young woman who purchased a small beach house in North Carolina. She fleed her abusive ex boyfriend in LA and made the long road trip to the house she purchased online. Unfortunately after a week of living in her new spot, a hurricane hit and took her house away. Allison did not know what to do that first night, so when she ran into the camera man that interviewed her about her experience at the local diner, she felt he was a safe person. She followed him to his home for the night to regroup. But so much happened that changed the course of Allison's path that night. Ultimately, a head injury from the camera man led to Allison having emergency brain surgery, in a twist of events conducted by her college friend Danny. So many weird scenarios that hooked me in to finish the book in one sitting. I will say, that last page! I wanted more, couldn't believe that is how we ended things!

Allison left her abusive movie producer boyfriend in L.A. to head out across country to North Carolina where she buys a perfect little blue house by the sea. Only a week and a half after living there a category 5 hurricane comes roaring through requiring the residents to evacuate. Upon returning she finds her little blue seaside home is no longer standing.

From here we follow Allison through various situations some more dangerous than others.

"It was a new day. She was fine. She had her health. It was like a running joke in her head."

This slim little novel is an oddly compelling day in the life of Allison. The quirk meter is off the charts. Allison is a likeable character, one that you want to hug one minute and shake by the shoulders the next. At times I wondered what the point to the story was yet I was never able to put it down. I had to know what would become of Allison. The ending was surprising and vague all at the same time. This may be one of those few occasions in which an epilogue would have been handy. While I liked the book and enjoyed the story it's hard to know who exactly I could recommend this too. If you have eclectic taste in fiction and enjoy the quirky side of life with a hint of darkness then this may be the unconventional book you're looking for. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for my complimentary copy.
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Hurricane Girl was a quick read for me, I love this sort of fiction. For fans of Made for Love, Hurricane Girl will be a slam dunk.

This book offers an unconventional look into relationships, love, and sex. I suspect it will be quite controversial upon its release. The writing and plot feel really experimental.

Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky tells the story of Allison who survives a violent attack right after she lost her house to a hurricane. The attack leaves her with a head injury, and instead of seeking out help she drives to her mother’s home.
This was a wild, stressful ride. The writing style took a minute to get used to, but ultimately I think the short, clipped sentences and odd dialogue added to the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Hurricane Girl for my honest review.

What a brisk, and absolutely propulsive novel! I never quite knew what was coming next, which I think is the best feeling for a novel. AND it is funny.

HURRICANE GIRL tells the story of Allison, a woman who escapes her West Coast life to live in a small beach house in North Carolina. Only, after a hurricane, things don't go quite as planned. This is definitely a return to form of Dermansky, whose previous novel VERY NICE didn't quite live up to her novel before that BAD MARIE, a novel which I completely adore. Though the prose is often exceedingly simple, Dermansky goes far and beyond in terms of voice / tone / and careful exploration of the subject matter. What a fun time I had reading this.

Thanks for the e-galley!

This was a wild ride of a book. It tells the story of Allison, who leaves an abusive boyfriend in LA and goes to her beach house in North Carolina. However, a hurricane hits! Allison is interviewed for TV and ends up entangled with the cameraman, who is also abusive. This is a novel where you couldn't tell what was real or imagined at times. Very different than what I expected or what I usually read, but very good!

A Salvatore Dali painting created with words is an apt description of Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky. Allison leaves her abusive producer boyfriend in LA to drive to the North Carolina coast to live in the beach house she purchased. After less than two weeks in her new home, a Category Three hurricane hits the coast and destroys the house. Allison is interviewed by a local TV reporter and filmed by a cameraman. Alison ends up spending the night with the cameraman and the cycle of physical abuse continues. With an open head wound, Allison drives to her mother's home in New Jersey. So begins this dream-like story of Allison who survives surgery but lives her life in a medicated existence, or is she lucid? An interesting novel that will create lots of discussion: is this real, imagined, and most of all, is it karma.

Weird and horrifying, also oh-so-funny at times!

At first, I couldn't tell if I was reading a setup for a horror film or a story about a good luck/bad luck girl.

Allison Brody is thirty and trying to find some stability in her life. The problem is she has her share of bad luck, along with making some very poor choices. She purchases a beach house in North Carolina because her favorite pastime is swimming. It was perfect, until the Category Five hurricane hit. This sets the stage for a string of bad luck and bad choices - her cell phone dies, she meets cameraman, she takes dumb risks, her world turns to black...... eek!

Just like a horror movie, you may find yourself wanting to yell at Allison, "STOP, NO, What are you thinking?!" If this was a movie, I would have covered my eyes, "What are you doing girl?!!"

Once I got used to the unique writing style and voice, I couldn't read fast enough to find out where Allison would wind up and what predicament she'd find herself in. Read to follow Allison and see if she gets the do-over that she craves and that perfect swimming pool of her dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Hurricane Girl.

I've never read anything by the author before but I was intrigued by the premise.

This is a strange, almost surreal story about a young woman who loses her beach house to a hurricane and afterwards, things go wrong. Or right. Depending on your perspective.

As I was reading, I couldn't help but alternate between, "What's the point?" and "Oh no, when is she ever gonna get a break."

Allison is an interesting protagonist; I didn't like her but I didn't dislike her.

Her mood swings, her behavior, even her personality was relatable; the way her thoughts swung back and forth between her family, her current predicament, the freaky events that led to her ending up in the hospital with a hole in her head.

At first, I thought she was suffering from PTSD (she definitely was), but Hurricane Girl was about something more, which I can't quite explain.

That life is strange and we soldier through it the best we can?

Life is weird and that's that.

The narrative was strangely compelling as Allison deals with the loss of her home, an assault, major surgery, her family, a sort of boyfriend, her love of swimming, her frequent recollections of her past life in LA, the abusive man she left, and her success at writing a successful script turned movie.

This was a quick read, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for something unusual and unique to read.

So, WOW, This book was amazing! I was captivated and engrossed in this book from the very beginning. I read it in a few hours. I could not put it down. It was a crazy ride and I had to keep reading to know what was going to happen next. This book was so back and forth with emotions, some parts were funny and then there were other parts where my jaw dropped and I felt awful for Allison. This is not normally a book I feel like I would choose to read but I saw a couple excellent reviews and was intrigued and had to give it a read. I am so glad I did! This was a gem! It is a shorter, quick read. I am going now to check out the authors other books.

Thank you Net Galley and for a gifted ARC of this book in return for my honest opinion.

Throughout the entire book my brain alternated between “oh my god that is hilarious” to “oh my god that is awful.” I was so confused and intrigued after reading the plot summary I just had to read it, and I’m so glad I did. Everything about this book was so good I genuinely cannot wait until it’s released to buy a physical copy and make everyone I know read it. I don’t think I’ll be able to look at a pool the same anymore.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for allowing me to read this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a lovely little novel about a young woman, Allison, who sadly keeps making poor choices. The name Keith seems to be connected to those choices (in my life, as well). Allison seems to be a victim of bad luck, as well as bad decisions, losing her newly bought home to a hurricane and being assaulted by a “bad” Good Samaritan.
It is when she has brain surgery that, maybe, it brings a change of luck?

The characters are so likable and so engaging, that I was captured by their issues. Demansky writes so beautifully that characters are captured with few words. Meeting Allison’s sister-in-law, we know so much about her by a very short paragraph describing her body language and clothing. That is amazing writing.

I would have liked a bit more closure. I ended tge book with lots of questions, but I will enjoy thinking about Allison and trying to hope she stops making bad decisions!

Thank you Netgalley for this little jewel.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this book. I was absolutely enthralled. The story is so engrossing and bizarre that you literally cannot put the book down. Sometimes it felt a bit trippy reading it (in a good way).

I loved the main character, Allison. The way her brain works (before and after the hole in her head) is very to-the-point and hilarious. This story is funny, disturbing, weird and wonderful all simultaneously.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It's so unique. It's a very quick and easy read. This was my first Marcy Dermansky book, and I am so looking forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

HOLY CANNOLI. Another absolute winner from one of top favorite authors Marcy Dermansky. She is a truly electrifying author, her stories are captivating and unexpected. I was engrossed with this short book over an entire Saturday, devouring it in long bursts because I had to know what happens next. I honestly gasped out loud at certain points, and I don't want to give way too much of the story because I didn't know anything going in and enjoyed the ride more than ever.

VERY NICE, her 2019 release, is probably one of my all time faves and while this one might not quite live up to it, it is only because it's a shorter book which I read in a quick spurt. Otherwise I am just so grateful we have a genius such as Dermansky to write books for us because she is truly a one of a kind.

a gripping and humorous read, i went into this nothing next to nothing - drawn in by the gorgeous cover, i ended up devouring this piece in mere hours.

heavily character driven filled with such interesting, likeable (and not so likeable) characters. i found allison to be a captivating protagonist who kept me questioning throughout the book.

i didn’t plan to finish this book in one sitting but the writing held me in a vice like grip, i had no other option but to stay up till 4:30am and know how this tale ended.

So well written so unique I devoured this book over the weekend.Raves to the author will be recommending.#netgalley #knopfdoubleday

I absolutely love this book. It’s an incredibly different satire. It’s put together in a fun way and presented uniquely for the reader. Highly recommend!